30 Purikura Kiss - My Little Sister Is Only Ever Cold to Me, Yet Recently She’s Been Strangely Clingy

Chapter 30: Purikura Kiss We accidentally stumbled into an arcade as we wandered aimlessly. The blend of unfamiliar sounds pounded against our eardrums. Amidst the cacophony, Ren pointed to a machine stationed next to the crane game area. "I want to try that." What she pointed at was a purikura photo booth. "Sounds fun!" Though I'd never taken purikura photos before, the idea intrigued me, and I accepted Ren's invitation. Together, we inserted our money and ducked behind the fluttering curtain into the small booth. We were greeted by a chirpy, mechanical voice. "Choose a mode!" Displayed on the screen in front of us were various modes. Friend Mode. Couple Mode. Party Mode. Without hesitation, Ren selected the Couple Mode. "Let's start taking pictures!" "First, give us a big smile together!" Following the instructions, I smiled at the camera. Ren, however, seemed to struggle with smiling naturally; the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. Yet, thanks to her good looks, she still made a picturesque image, even if her expression remained unchanged. After the shutter clicked, new instructions came. "Now create a big heart together!" The difficulty level suddenly skyrocketed. I raised my arms and bent my body as shown in the example photo. Ren copied my pose, but our differing builds and arm lengths made it impossible to form a neat heart before the shutter clicked again. Before we had a chance to reflect on our performance, another instruction was issued. "Next, give each other a tight hug!" "Eh?" I couldn't help but let out a sound of confusion. Unfazed by my reaction, Ren leaned in, bending slightly to embrace me. Calm and composed, she looked at the camera. The booth's temperature seemed to spike dramatically. I, too, followed her lead, though flustered, and looked towards the camera as the countdown proceeded, and we were engulfed by the flash. I worried my face might be beet-red, which would be embarrassing. But before I could dwell on it, another instruction emerged. "Finally, give your partner a kiss on the cheek!" The air froze. Both Ren and I were struck speechless. Meanwhile, the numbers on the monitor rapidly ticked down. Beside the countdown, the example photo displayed a short girl kissing a tall boy's cheek. With the declining numbers pressing us, I instinctively imitated the example photo, rising on my toes just as the shutter sound clicked, and we were enveloped in white light. My lips grazed against Ren’s flushed cheek. ◇◇◇ Exhausted from the photo session, I watched intently as Ren edited the pictures. She swiftly embellished them with sparkly decorations and words at an amazing pace. "Commemorating a couple" "Ren & Ai" "Together forever" Amidst a myriad of hearts and stars, these words sparkled and danced. I stole a glance at Ren’s face. As expected, her expression was as stoic as ever, making it hard to believe she was the same person who wrote those playful comments. Apparently, when it comes to words, Ren becomes a bit cheeky. Thinking back, even when we used to exchange letters, her writing style was always high-spirited. Reflecting on these memories and the amusing scene before me, I couldn't help but chuckle secretly. Once the purikura printed, we used the attached scissors to cut and share the photos. I couldn’t quite bring myself to look directly at the kissing photo, but the others captured a joyful moment, enhanced by Ren’s glittering edits. Ren held them to her chest as if they were precious.